"This Very System Has Lifted Me": Justice Midha Of Delhi High Court On Indian Judiciary, On His Retirement

Bidding a teary-eyed farewell to the Delhi High Court on Tuesday on the occasion of his retirement, Justice MR Midha took a walk down the memory lane with fellow Judges and colleagues, remembering his initial days at the Bar and said, "This very system has lifted me."

He expressed his appreciation and gratefulness to the system and adding the feather of impartiality on its hat, said that he had been elevated by the system to the position of a judge despite having no Godfathers in the profession.

"I joined the bar in 1992 and got elevated in 2008. When I was only 13, I lost my father. I had no brother and a mere rental income of 500 Rupees only. When I joined the bar I started out with a briefcase and used to travel in the bus from Krishna Nagar to Tis Hazari. I had never dreamt that a common person with no godfather will be elevated to this position. I never thought I could reach that position," he said.

He delivered his farewell speech in an e-farewell organised by the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA).

Like a majority of other luminaries in the legal profession whose many roles include that of a teacher, he began teaching law from 1989 to 1992, at Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, Delhi University.

Appointed as an Additional Judge of Delhi High Court on Apr 11, 2008, his position was made permanent after a little over 3 years on Jul 6, 2011. His practice at the Bar stretched to the Delhi High Court, the Supreme Court, and forums like the MRTP Commission, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, etc.

Senior Advocates Sidharth Luthra, Sandeep Sethi, Amandeep Singh Chandiok along with Justice Midha's fellow-judge Justice Vipin Sanghi too were present on the occasion, alongside DHCBA President Mohit Mathur, Secretary Abhijat and Senior Counsel Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Heaping praises upon Justice Midha, while DHCBA President Mohit Mathur said that he had been the "recipient of his generosity," Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi shared how Justice Midha had plunged into his work as a judge on attaining the position, completely immersing himself in it.

Praising his research skills, Singhvi said, "His research is so meticulous and so is his work in the field of Motor Vehicles Act."

With reference to Justice Midha's recent celebrated judgment wherein he upheld the right of stray dogs to be fed and of citizens to feed them, Singhvi said, "He always strives to balance welfare and society."

Referring to Singhvi's remark on his spiritual side, Justice Midha said in his farewell speech that he had always seen the work of a judge as meditation and focused on the litigant more than the counsel after a default dismissal of a case in 2013 had caused damage to a litigant.

Realizing the damage that the litigant had faced at the hands of the system, "...one thing which I adopted from that day, I think 2013, I never dismissed any matter in default," and "never proceeded ex-parte against anybody since 2013 or so," sometimes even sending for the counsels to appear.

Throwing light on the work that goes behind the professional life of a judge, Justice Midha shared he had not had proper sleep in the last 13 years, had had no time to watch television or even read newspapers beyond the headlines.

He concluded saying, "Truth is justice in action. It's always hiding under there somewhere."